Ogilvy’s MediaXchange Mixer Was a Blast

This week the people of Ogilvy PR’s Media Influence group did a bit of what they do best: hosting an informal get-together for representatives from some of New York media’s biggest brands and inviting your humble editor along for the ride!

The third quarterly MediaXchange event took place at the East Side’s Club A Steakhouse, a restaurant known for its prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, its low-light atmospherics, and the strategically placed mirrors that make its upstairs lounge area look even more spacious than it actually is.

The event included representatives from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Fox News, Fast Company and more, and its main concerns were networking and discussing the shifting influence of “traditional” media on the national conversation.

Jennifer Risi, EVP of Ogilvy Media Influence and director of content creation, explained the purpose of the series: “Despite the emergence of social media, events such as the MediaXchange series are proving to be an invaluable forum for promoting the stories of our clients and establishing lasting connections with key influencers. The informal setting fosters an ‘old school’ environment where we are able to promote, share and collaborate with some of the leading reporters and conference organizers in the industry today.”

There was indeed quite a bit of healthy fraternizing going on: Your editor and The Wall Street Journal’s marketing director Jennifer Hoffman compared their South Carolina upbringings while she provided some fascinating details about her work organizing WSJ/Dow Jones “executive conferences” for business leaders around the country–and scoring big-name guest speakers like white-hot Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep/VP nominee Paul Ryan.

Stuart Elliot, a reporter who writes about advertising for the Times print edition and its Media Decoder blog, played the role of social gadfly to a T, wishing your editor a happy birthday and noting his fondness for a certain media outlet called TVNewser.

In short, a good time was had by all thanks to the low-key organizational skills of the folks at Ogilvy. Our biggest takeaway? Despite countless claims to the contrary, traditional media brands have made the transition into the digital realm, and the biggest names will continue to steer the conversation with the help of their friends in the PR industry.